Homemade Sausage Making

Hello to all out there! I have some nice salmon pieces that I want to make into Indian Candy. When I look around various forums, I see that most recipes "do not" call for the use of Prague powder or Cure # 1. Can anyone suggest a dry brine recipe that does use a curing agent such as cure # 1.
Thanks from a newbie

Bert,

Perhaps sodium nitrite is not needed for brining and smoking fish. This is the best that I could find for you: http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/fish

Everyone should purchase and read Stan and Adam Marianski's 'Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages". I think they have most of the answers to all of the questions.

See this link for the section on smoking fish.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/fishhttp://www.wedlinydomowe.com/fish

Dave Zac

I have missing my formula for what I speak to "glass candy". It is simple to create and I keep in mind including some material and contain Sugar on it That's all I can keep in mind. Anybody tell me the candy Recipe ? Thanks

Indian Candy





● Salmon fillets
● salt
● brown sugar

Preparation
Cut salmon into 1/2" strips from fillets of salmon. In a large bowl, mix together salt and brown sugar in a 50/50 ratio making certain you have enough to completely cover the salmon. Place salmon in the bowl and coat evenly with the mix by rolling salmon in through the mix. Leave salmon in the bowl, in a cool place 5°C (40°F) for 12 to 24 hours. Remove salmon from the bowl, rinse off excess mix and pat dry.

Smoking Method
Place salmon on racks and put in the Smoker. Using Maple wood, smoke at about 50°C to 60°C (110°F to 135°F) for 4 to 12 hours depending on your preference as to texture and taste. The longer the smoking process, the more chewy the Indian Candy will be.

To Serve
Indian Candy is a wonderfully versatile hard-cured salmon product. It is great as an appetizer or a high-protein snack. Great on the trail as well, but watch out for bears - they love it too! This process will extend the amount of time the fish can be stored in the refrigerator. Traditionally small salmon, such as Coho or Sockeye are used in this process. For a flavor twist add some genuine maple syrup to the salt/sugar mixture

Indian candy salmon is real easy to make. No need to use cure #1 when brining fish. I always baste the fish several times with maple sugar to give it a good glaze. The longer you dry it out the better the candy

Big Guy wrote: ...but watch out for bears - they love it too!

...so maybe we ought to call it Bear Candy, to be politically correct?
Either way, I gotta try this. It sounds (and looks) great.

So I gotta ask: is this fishy tasting smoky candy or candy flavored smoky fish or candy,fishy flavored smoky salt? either way I would certainly give it a try. Remember that before the European invasion there were no bees and no cane sugar. But anyone who has lived in the north and played in the woods knows ,in the spring when the sap is up and the nights are cold a broken branch on a maple tree will make an icicle over night and in the morning the tip of the icicle will be sweet.

In my opinion, using a quality fish like salmon to make "Indian Candy" is a waste just like hundreds of salmon recipes out there that call for a cacophony of ingredients to mask the true flavour of the fish. It seems that the process was designed for people who really do not like salmon, and there is probably nothing wrong with that. I can name quite a few things that I don't like, but then I don't dip them in maple syrup either.

Do I sound like Andy Rooney?

I think if you check, fish candy has been around for many many years and it started as a way to preserve the fish not cover the taste.
We may no longer need the preservative properties of the candy because of refrigeration, but some people, including this one, just like the taste of it.
As far as I'm concerned there is just about no way to make fish that I don't enjoy it... Especially salmon.

LOL.........if I am going to pay 15-18 dollars per pound for good BC or Alaskan Copper River Salmon I am going to make it my way.
Just saying

Huck , have you ever smoked catfish?

Can't say I've ever even had smoked catfish. Had a few others but not that. Mullet , salmon of course, trout, tuna, mackerel. But never catfish. How is that? The only fish I ever personaly smoked is trout.

I've smoked catfish on several occasions. It works real well, although I prefer to smoke crappie or even good quality tillapia. In my opinion smaller catfish (1lb or so) are best, they don't have as much fat and "muddy taste" to them.
Standard brine/sugar mix is what I have always used.
73 de Allen, W1SBY

To be quite honest I would have never considered trying catfish. I would've assumed it to be too soft fleshed and like you said larger ones are a little bit muddy at times. Crappie on the other hand is possibly my favorite fesh water fish with walleye running a close second. But never smoked either one of those either. Now you've got my curiosity up I may have to try them. I usually use apple wood for trout would it be the same for catfish?